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THE  NEW  YORK  HOME 
OF  THE  PEERLESS 

1760  BROADWAY 


THE  PEERLESS 
MOTOR  CAR  COMPANY 
OF  NEW  YORK 


CLASSIC 
Tl 
215" 
.P5 


Copyright,  igio,  by  The  Peerless  Motor  Car  Company  of  New  York 


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PEERLESS 


JL  Broadway  just  below  Fifty- Seventh  Street, 
stands  a  ten  story  terra  cotta  building,  owned  and 
occupied  by  the  Peerless  Motor  Car  Company  of 
New  York.  The  first  floor  is  occupied  by  the 
Peerless  salesroom,  while  the  nine  upper  floors  are 
devoted  to  various  workrooms  appropriate  to  a 
high  class  motor  car  establishment. 

It  is  chiefly  to  acquaint  owners  of  Peerless  cars, 
in  and  around  New  York,  with  the  service  which 
this  establishment  affords,  that  this  book  is  issued. 

The  satisfaction  of  having  ready  access  to  an 
establishment  where  every  need  of  a  motor  car  can 
be  promptly  cared  for  is  best  appreciated  by  those 
who  have  found  the  absence  of  such  service  a  source 
of  annoyance  and  delay,  and  have  afterwards  known 


blocks  south  of   Columbus  Circle,  on 


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the  ease  with  which  similar  wants  can  be  met  when 
an  adequate  organization  and  mechanical  equipment 
are  within  easy  reach. 

Realizing  the  importance  of  prompt  and  efficient 
service,  as  adding  greatly  to  the  pleasurable  satis- 
faction of  being  a  user  of  the  Peerless  car,  it  has 
been  the  aim  of  the  Peerless  Company  to  excel  in 
this  service,  with  the  same  thoroughness  that  has 
characterized  the  construction  of  the  car  itself. 

A  measure  of  the  Company's  intentions  has 
been  achieved  in  providing  an  establishment  in 
New  York  where  a  complete  service  In  reconstruc- 
tion, modifications,  repairs,  overhauling,  and  special 
order  work,  can  be  done  under  one  roof.  By 
avoiding  the  necessity  of  having  the  different  parts 
of  such  work  done  in  different  places,  it  is  possible 
to  facilitate  the  work  to  a  degree  not  otherwise 
possible. 

The  service  provided  by  the  Peerless  Company 
includes  almost  every  kind  of  work  germane  to  the 
use  of  its  cars,  such  as  the  following: 

Work  necessary  to  adjust  parts  of  the  mechanism 
that  have  gotten  out  of  order  during  ordinary  use  of 
the  car. 

Work  necessitated  by  the  owner's  desire  to  change 
or  modify  the  equipment  of  his  car. 

Restorations  due  to  accidents,  mishaps,  and 
improper  care  of  the  car. 

Making  special  tops  to  suit  individual  require- 
ments. 

Making,  fitting,  upholstering,  and  painting  special 
bodies  to  suit  the  taste  of  the  owner. 


5 


JUST  FROM  THE  FACTORY 


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Repainting  and  refinishing  cars  to  express  individ- 
ual ideas  of  the  owner. 

Overhauling  such  as  is  usually  desirable  after  a 
hard  season's  use. 

Overhauling  and  refinishing  used  cars  that  are  to 
be  resold  under  the  Peerless  guarantee. 

Overhauling  used  cars  that  have  changed  owner- 
ship without  having  been  previously  done  over. 

Storing  new  cars  that  have  been  sold  and  have 
been  received  from  the  factory  awaiting  delivery. 

Where  it  becomes  necessary  to  adjust  the 
mechanism  of  Peerless  cars,  as  occasionally  happens 
with  almost  any  mechanical  apparatus,  it  is  the 
pride  of  the  Peerless  Company  to  make  such 
adjustments  with  the  least  possible  delay,  and  to  do 
the  work  where  possible  at  such  times  as  the  ma- 
chine may  not  be  in  requisition  by  the  owner.  Many 
valuable  ideas  used  in  developing  and  perfecting  our 
mechanism  are  gained  by  coming  in  contact  with 
even  the  smallest  points  of  disorder.  For  the  sake 
of  this  information,  and  because  it  is  our  desire  to 
render  a  thoroughly  complete  service  with  our  cars, 
the  Company  encourages  owners  to  call  attention  to 
even  the  slightest  points,  rather  than  to  let  them  go, 
or  to  attempt  adjustment  themselves.  The  present 
degree  of  perfection  in  motor  car  construction  has 
been  attained  only  by  watching  the  results  of  cars 
in  daily  use;  and  while  actual  perfection  is  as  yet 
an  unattained  ideal,  it  is  the  desire  of  the  Peerless 
Company  to  take  all  necessary  steps  to  approach  it 
as  closely  as  possible.  It  is  perhaps  unnecessary 
to  add  that  all  adjustments  due  to  any  fault  in 


7 


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the  mechanism  are  gladly  made  without  charge. 
Changes  in  the  equipment,  such  as  putting  on 
special  tops,  glass  fronts,  seat  covers,  speedometers, 
clocks,  bumpers,  etc.,  are  made  with  the  least 
possible  delay.  Such  equipment  may  be  bought 
separately,  made  to  order,  or  selected  from  our 
stock,  as  may  be  desired. 

The  Peerless  service  is  especially  capable  of 
restoring  cars  after  accidents  or  mishaps,  all  neces- 
sary parts  being  kept  in  stock  to  the  extent  of 
over  $200,000  and  skilled  workmen  and  machinery 
at  hand  to  do  whatever  is  necessary  to  put  the  car 
in  perfect  condition,  even  though  it  be  completely 
wrecked. 

Where  a  different  kind  of  top  is  desired  than 
the  standard  commonly  in  use,  it  may  be  made  to 
order  and  fitted  under  the  owner's  supervision  and 
with  but  slight  retention  of  the  car  for  measure- 
ments and  fitting. 

Special  bodies  are  often  desired,  as  a  basis  for 
the  expression  of  individual  taste  in  the  lines,  color, 
finish,  and  upholstery.  Ample  provisions  are  made 
for  this  work,  and  many  ideas  in  color,  taste  and 
arrangement,  as  well  as  samples  of  materials,  are 
available  for  selection,  as  well  as  the  disposition  to 
work  out  any  good  ideas  the  owner  of  the  car  may 
bring  from  other  sources. 

Painting  of  cars  is  a  department  of  the  work 
requiring  expert  attention,  as  everyone  knows  who 
is  familiar  with  the  intricacies  of  such  work.  When 


9 


THE  S 


ROOM 


INSPECTION  DEPARTMENT 


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OF    THE  PEERLESS 


it  is  remembered  that  to  get  a  piano  finish  on  an 
automobile  body  requires  from  sixteen  to  twenty 
coats  of  paint,  oil  and  varnish,  with  various  inter- 
mediate processes  of  drying  and  rubbing  down,  the 
importance  of  expert  work  becomes  apparent.  Of 
this  department  of  its  service,  both  as  to  efficiency 
of  workmanship,  and  good  taste  in  the  use  of  colors, 
the  Company  is  especially  proud. 

After  a  hard  season's  wear  it  is  customary  and 
desirable  for  motor  cars  to  be  thoroughly  overhauled, 
worn  parts  replaced,  strained  parts  adjusted,  and 
the  enclosed  mechanism  taken  apart  and  cleaned 
and  put  together  again.  Whether  a  car  seems  to 
need  such  treatment  or  not  it  is  a  safe  precaution 
such  as  one  would  expect  to  be  taken  with  a  loco- 
motive to  which  was  entrusted  the  safety  of  the 
passengers.  The  time  required  for  this  work  is  made 
as  short  as  is  consistent  with  thorough  work  and 
may  be  arranged  for  at  such  time  as  the  car  is  not 
especially  needed  in  active  use.  The  ability  of  this 
department  to  adapt  its  work  to  such  time  as  may 
be  most  convenient  for  the  owner,  is  a  point  care- 
fully considered  in  its  organization  and  equipment. 

Considerable  floor  space  is  devoted  to  overhauling 
and  reflnishing  used  cars  that  are  to  be  resold  under 
the  Peerless  guarantee.  Models  of  a  few  years  back 
can,  by  overhauling,  and  replacing  worn  parts,  be 
made  substantially  as  good  as  new,  except  of  course 
that  they  are  not  new  and  cannot  be  sold  as  such. 
But  they  are  greatly  superior  to  new  cars  of  less 


'3 


IN  THE  REPAIR  SHOP 


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expensive  and  less  substantial  makes,  and  are  in 
every  way  worthy  of  being  classed  with  the  latest 
Peerless  models,  so  far  as  their  ability  to  give  satisfac- 
tory service  is  concerned.  The  restoration  of  these 
cars  forms  an  interesting  department  of  the  business. 

Ample  provision  is  also  made  for  doing  over 
used  Peerless  cars  that  have  changed  owners,  and 
which  the  new  owner  desires  to  have  put  in  perfect 
condition. 

In  all  its  work  of  repairing,  overhauling,  repaint- 
ing, and  reflnishing,  the  Company  declines  to  turn 
out  as  completed  a  car  which  stands  in  obvious  need 
of  further  work,  or  which  should  have  more  thorough 
attention  than  might  make  it  merely  passable.  To 
compromise  with  the  situation  only  invites  later 
dissatisfaction  for  both  the  owner  and  the  Company, 
and  it  is  the  policy  of  the  Company  to  avoid  this. 

The  equipment  necessary  to  carry  on  the  work 
suggested  in  these  pages  includes  an  organization 
of  about  250  operatives,  and  necessary  machinery 
for  working  with  steel,  iron,  tin,  wood,  leather,  etc., 
together  with  an  office  organization  to  maintain  the 
necessary  system  for  the  proper  operation  of 
the  plant. 

The  building  in  which  these  various  departments 
are  housed  is  a  ten  story  steel  and  re-inforced 
concrete  structure,  faced  with  white  terra  cotta. 
The  frontage  is  70  feet  on  Broadway,  and  the  lot 
90  feet  deep,  with  an  extension  having  a  25  foot 
frontage  on  A  Vest  57th  Street. 


5 


AT  THE  FORGE 


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The  salesroom  occupies  the  ground  floor,  and  is 
designed  to  be  in  keeping  with  the  Peerless  cars,  in 
dignity  and  richness.  The  walls  and  columns  are  of 
Botticino  marble.  The  panels  and  side  walls  are 
of  Greek  Skyros,  and  the  base  of  Pennsylvania 
Serpentine  marble.  The  border  of  the  floor  is  in 
Verde  Antique  and  Old  Convent  Sienna.  The 
Mosaic  floor  is  of  Sienna  marble  sawed  in  slabs  and 
broken  by  hand,  to  get  a  novel  effect.  The  lighting 
of  the  salesroom  is  concealed  in  marble  caps  on  the 
side  walls,  giving  8000  candle-power  of  a  softly 
diffused  light.    The  ceiling  is  of  gold  leaf. 

Among  the  interesting  features  of  the  building 
may  be  mentioned  the  perfect  ventilating  system 
for  the  offices  and  salesrooms,  the  two  immense 
elevators  used  for  lifting  cars  from  one  floor  to 
another,  automatically  controlled  electric  dumb 
waiter  system  connecting  all  floors,  telephone  system 
reaching  all  departments,  and  a  telautograph 
system  connecting  different  floors  of  the  building. 
At  the  Fifty-seventh  Street  entrance  is  a  turn  table 
which  is  useful  in  transferring  cars  from  one  part  of 
the  building  to  another. 

While  no  provision  is  made  for  garage  business, 
and  no  part  of  the  building  is  used  for  storing 
machines  not  held  for  a  definite  purpose,  a  reservoir 
tank  for  gasoline  is  provided,  so  that  the  gasoline 
may  be  pumped  through  pipes  to  automobiles  at 
the  ground  floor  entrance,  without  handling.  The 
building   is    fireproof,   and    is   supplied  with  an 


17 


PAINTING  ROOM 


THE  fTFTY-SKVKNTH  STREET  ENTRANCE  FOR  CABS 


THE  FACTORY  AT  CLEVELAND 


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automatic  sprinkler  system,  with  two  large  tanks 
which  are  kept  filled  by  pumps  that  start  automat- 
ically when  the  water  falls  below  a  certain  level. 

The  architect  of  the  building  is  Francis  Kimball, 
well  known  as  architect  of  the  Trinity  Building, 
City  Investing  Building  and  many  other  well 
known  buildings.  The  construction  work  was 
done  by  the  Fuller  Construction  Company.  The 
ground,  building  and  contents  represent  an  invest- 
ment of  over  $1,000,000. 

The  provision  made  in  New  York  City  for  the 
care  of  Peerless  cars  and  Peerless  customers  is 
similar  to  that  provided  by  the  Company  in  other 
large  cities.  And  while  in  many  other  localities  it 
has  not  been  possible  to  carry  out  the  idea  on  the 
scale  suited  to  metropolitan  requirements,  the  spirit 
of  the  service  here  provided  may  properly  be 
considered  indicative  of  the  "Peerless  Service" 
wherever  this  Company  is  in  touch  with  the  users 
of  its  cars. 

The  manufacturing  plant  and  home  offices  of 
The  Peerless  Motor  Car  Company  are  located  at 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  The  plant  employs  2500  work- 
men. Here  the  Peerless  cars  are  made,  with  what 
degree  of  thoroughness  and  ingenuity  is  elsewhere 
told,  and  from  here  are  distributed  to  all  the 
leading  centers  in  the  United  States. 

The  Peerless  Motor  Car  Company  of  New  York 
is  a  subsidiary  Company  whose  directorate  includes 
officers  of  the  parent  company. 


21 


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The  officers  of  the  parent  company  are :  L.  H. 
Kittredge,  President  ;  E.  H.  Parkhurst,  Vice 
President;  Frank  I.  Harding,  Treasurer;  George 
B.  Siddall,  Secretary. 

The  officers  of  the  Peerless  Motor  Car  Company 
of  New  York,  are:  L.  H.  Kittredge,  President; 
A.  N.  Dutton,  Vice  President;  J.  Hunter  Lack, 
Secretary. 


Planned  and  written  by 
George  Batten  Company,  New  York 

Illustrations  by 
Alfred  Brennan 

Sectional  View  drawn  by 
Maurice  Collette 

Printing  and  Binding  by 
Baktlett-Orr  Press,  New  York 


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